Album of the Week – ‘A Seat at the Table’ by Solange

‘A Seat at the Table’ by Solange is Eastside Radio’s Album of the Week.

This long awaited third album is described by the artist as “a project on identity, empowerment, independence, grief and healing.” The album melds together a miryd of infleunces that stretchs her musical boundaries and challenges her lyrical history opening up about the pain, anger, and pride of her surrounds within a divided America. She effortlessly disects some of the most heated issues like race, capitalism, and cultural pride by discussing them through the catalyst of her own experince.

Whether that be highlighting the lessons learned from mother Tina Knowles about having cultural pride in ‘Interlude: Tina Taught Me’, or reflecting on her own priotites as a mother in creating a strong role model for her son in ‘F.U.B.U.’ Sonically there is also a huge shift. She’s left her pop classic past like ‘I Decided’ behind for a beat rich, slow paced, and lyric focused future. She’s also opted for multiple collaborations including  working alongside Lil Wayne, Moses Sumney and Tweet, Sampha and Kelly Rowland just to name a few. There’s been a lot said about the album, most of which is praise (and rightly so!), but to put it simply, you just can’t spend the rest of this year without listening to this must have release. For those looking to understand the innerworkings of Solange’s creative process, she also accompanied the release with a digital booklet that’s worth a read.

Track Listing:

1 “Rise”

2 “Weary” (Additional Vocals blessed by Tweet)

3 “Interlude: The Glory Is In You”

4 “Cranes In The Sky”

5 “Interlude: Dad Was Mad”

6 “Mad” Ft. Lil Wayne (Additional Vocals blessed by Moses Sumney and Tweet)

7 “Don’t You Wait”

8 “Interlude: Tina Taught Me”

9 “Don’t Touch My Hair” Ft. Sampha

10 “Interlude: This Moment” (Additional vocals Devonte Hynes of Houston Texas and Lu of Carolina)

11 “Where Do We Go” (Additional vocals blessed by Sean Nicholas Savage)

12 “Interlude: For Us By Us”

13 “F.U.B.U.” Ft. The Dream & BJ The Chicago Kid (Additional Vocals blessed by Tweet)

14 “Borderline (An Ode To Self Care)” Ft. Q-Tip

15 “Interlude: I Got So Much Magic, You Can Have It” Ft. Kelly Rowland & Nia

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16 “Junie”

17 “Interlude: No Limits”

18 “Don’t Wish Me Well”

19 “Interlude: Pedestals”

20 “Scales” Ft. Kelela

21 ”Closing: The Chosen Ones”

You can follow Solange’s career HERE or via her FACEBOOK page. For an extended listen to the album, tune in on Thursday from 1.30PM – 2PM for ‘Album of the Week’ with Josh Crosbie.  You can also stream the station at WWW.EASTSIDEFM.ORG.